Lots of thoughts.
Ultimately the album made me think of how the art is constrained or informed by the medium. When listening to headphones, I was struck by how loud certain parts of the composition were, and by how bland (generally) most of the individual parts were.
Many of the songs were sonically very full, almost too full, held stable by basic drum patterns and overly chordal rhythm guitar. And the harmonica was loud.
Now all that being said, I dont think Ive ever heard people actually talk about the compositional or instrumentally technical aspects of a Bob Dylan song. They are there to provide the base for his singing, specifically the lyrics.
And while the lyrics are witty and era-appropriately punchy, by the end of most songs I stopped caring because of how long they just. kept. coming.
Obviously Like a Rolling Stone is a hallmark of music. And its a great read. As a poem. I’d honestly prefer to take it in that way than through my headphones again. Yes the chorus is great and iconic, but after the 5th time in one sitting it loses its weight.
I dont want to just shit on this though, so I really did make an effort to try and get in the headspace of someone who would be listening to it in 1965. So I pulled out my speaker and let it play while idled in the background and honestly it was a much better experience.
It feels like it was made to play ambiently in the background while you idled. The production and volumes and istrumental choices make much more sense to me then, and Dylan’s voice gets evened out across an atmosphere rather than concentrated directly into both ears evenly with no panning.
Make some lunch, draw a little, and let your ears latch onto a line every 2-3 minutes that stands out or makes you laugh. Its a good time.
This was the second time I've got around to listening to this album in full. The last time was a couple of years ago when I was in the middle of the music-making journey.
At the time, it wasn't as impressive to me as Are You Experienced? However, now that I've put some distance between the two, I have much more appreciation for what's going on here.
This may be a hot take, but really and truly Axis in my mind listens better and makes more sense to me as one hell of a B-side to Are You Experienced?
I mean just think about it - Both were released in the same year. Both share similar melodic motifs both in the vocal and the guitar. It just tells me that Jimi was very much in the same-ish headspace, and that makes sense given that they were churned out in the same year.
Specifically I felt this way as we crested into the back half of the album - the First half, all the way through to "If 6 was 9."
This was driven home for me when I heard One Rainy Wish come on, and I realized it has the same opening sequence as "May This Be Love" but in the exact same starting key and embellishment as "Wind Cries Mary".
Whereas the first half felt distinct with a far more percussive use of the guitar, the second half was characterized by a more legato, silky tone, that really is like trademark Psychedelic Hendrix.
And for me, the magic of this album is really in its first half. The second half is still good. Lots of masterful instrumentation and all-around fun production work, throughout, but the first half makes the album.
I appreciate the vision of the first two tracks - there was a clear evocation and a through line that It felt like Hendrix wanted to make. To UFOs and the Gods of Hindu mythology, like the flying vimanas of the Bhagavad Gita and the Castles in the Sky not directly mentioned but alluded to in the transition from "Up In the Skies" to "Spanish Castle Magic" and ending with "Castles Made of Sand"
The whole thesis feels like a question, something to make you question. What exactly? Reality, meaning, purpose, bullshit, y'know. The usual.
Regardless, the imagery is cascaded well until its main statement piece: Little Wing. And my god is it a statement. I remember listening to the short documentary thing at the end of the remaster that first time 3 years ago and the producer said something to the tune of: "Yeah I think we'll still be listening to Little Wing well into the 20th century". Yknow just to insinuate its timelessness. And it is. Its easily in my top 25, maybe my honest to god top 10 favorite songs of all time. And it shows why. Such a fun structure. So much room to settle into. The guitar is so stanky. The drums are so in the pocket, and the damn triangle(?) in the background to carry the esoteric mood through. The Phaser on the vocal mid-way through?! Two choruses and a breakdown and fucking out- mic-drop. My wife always says when judging music: "You've got 3-4 minutes of my time. What are you going to show me?" And Little Wing says "bet. here's 2 and half, baby".
And capstoned with If 6 was 9. Never been my favorite piece, to be fair, but I do appreciate the composition and structure of it. Peak percussive guitar here. AND Its got one of the more influential opening lines in Rock N Roll history. "If the mountains crumbled to the Sea, there would still be you and me" I first heard that line in "Thank You" from the Zeppelin II. Plant always admitted that he had ripped it from Hendrix and its honestly what made me listen to Axis in the first place. Look out for it in other songs too, because I assure you, it is out there.
Great f***ing album. 9.3/10. which turns into 4.6/5, but we got no decimals on here so unfortunately it does get turned into a 4, but its a helluva 4 that I may look back on in a few months and regret not giving a 5. C'est la vie.
This is literally your Grandparents favorite Soft Rock album. But its also probably one of the albums that got your parents into the harder/cooler stuff in the first place.
Literally everyone knows the three hits on this album. Dont know if that makes them outright amazing, but certainly influential.
I dug the Live aspect of it all though, I can see this being way more fun to experience than to have in your living room. Frampton himself feels like a conglomerate of his time and honestly, theres nothing wrong with that. Would I listen again? And I sure as hell aint listening to the 13min version of Do You Feel Like I Do again in my life if I can help it. But you’d best believe Show Me The Way, and Baby, I Love Your Way were already downloaded to the phone.
6.7/10! 3/5
It was a breath of fresh air to hear more diversity of song both in melody and instrumentation.
Main singer is sultry and has great expression with her voice for the in between parts
On the surface and initial glance, it just seems like a jazz musician trying to mainstream himself with some steamy energy.
But there are some really fun and different things going on beneath the surface. While the instrumentation is a standard set-up for a country/honkytonk sound, the structure is not at all set up in any sort of standard. Clearly the jazz influences for the structural flow are utilized here and I think it opens up the space for Tim's vocals to do a number.
And I mean do a number. Maybe, depending on what you like or what you are used to, his voice may not sound good to your ears. I wont be passing judgement on what is good and what is not, however, this is not the same kind of vocal argument that people like to talk about when considering some like say, Bobby Dyl. Whether you like the sound or not, Tim Buckley's vocals are very complex and impressive. When the album first started I thought he was just going to be singing country. Nope. Because that high end goes nasty. And is difficult to do and switch between so easily. Also - his country vocals alone were some of the cleanest and clearest I've heard from the VAST majority of male country singer. Come at me, we'll talk. I'll be right.
Add in the ridiculous vocal control needed to combine that with his high-end chest/falsetto horny sounds? Pretty wild. A little screechy. Entirely impressive. Also consider that the way he sings on this album, and the country tone in general isnt really at all how he sounds on early albums? C'mon. Truly just being objective here. Gotta give credit when its due.
8.1/10
4
Hey man, this was fun.
I'll be honest. When I first started hearing Roadrunner, and for most of the song, it very much felt derivative of everything going on with British Invasion of the time. Some Doors, some Ramones, VERY Lou Reed inspired talking cadence. Nothing you havent heard before, right? WRONG.
Because you a little bit of research, and other than the Doors, literally every other of those influences that I just mentioned, and all others that eventually take the cake as the preeminent Punk bands, came AFTER this album.
And the instrumentals bang. They have fun with rhythm, melody, and leads. AGAIN, Is it anything you havent heard before in some capacity, no. But how much music really is? Very little, and if you believe otherwise, you need to go have a chat with your ego and your sense of musical awareness. BUT theyre having fun as a group. AND everything that the instrumentalists are doing is actually a very cool synthesis of what was coming before them (i.e. Psychedelic rock and Hard Rock (Like Zeppelin) and Rock n Roll). History is but a pendulum, kids. And before you get to the stripped down very basic bones of what Punk music is, there naturally had to be a transition period from the savant guitarists and monster band constructions where the notes were all that mattered. And it seems very clear to me that this album stands at right about that point.
And its fun. Theyre having fun! And so is the singer. And he's fucking funny. I havent laughed this hard during an album in years. And the lyrics are cool. One or two lines from Pablo Picasso, or Girlfren did more for me lyrically than Bob Dylan really ever did, and I'm not really trying to dig on Bob Dylan, I'm just trying to use a reference people will get. And I mean it.
The whole group isnt taking themselves too seriously and that is kind of the point at the heart of Punk music and what it would really be remembered for when it took full shape in the mid-70s. Yeah all that fancy playing is cool, but I dont care about that, everyones trying too hard to be Page, or Clapton, or Hendrix, but we're just going to bang (our heads).
9.4/10
4.2/5 but gets a 5 for the vibes and for making me laugh and for making me do research and learn some more and widen my view of appreciation.
Subtle and fun.
The vocal subtlety alongside the rhythmic variety kept my head bopping almost the entire way through.
Its crazy to listen to this is nearly 2026, and just how obvious her influence on women’s vocals is now.
Theyre all covers, yes.
And there’s different life in all of them. An older, fuller life conveyed heavily with each grizzled croon.
There is very obviously a focus towards the future for Cash, thought not the future we tend to want to focus on. Because truly, when you have already done and lived a full life, a focus towards the future has to have death play no small part. Kingdom Come, Salvation and Damnation abound When the Man Comes Around.
RIP, senõr.
4.3/5
5 for the vibes
